Leadership is “influence.” Leadership is also “communication.” Those who cannot communicate have no chance to exert influence. Great leaders throughout history—such as Churchill, Gandhi, and Martin Luther King Jr.—all possessed an outstanding command of language. In ancient Greek society, individuals without rhetorical ability were not appointed to leadership roles. Rhetoric is the art of communication through language.
Language is the medium that connects people to one another. For whatever reason, if one’s ability to communicate through language is weak, one cannot develop relationships and must work alone. Those who work alone are not “leaders.” A “leader” presupposes the presence of followers.
So, how can one communicate well? There may be various pieces of advice, such as “speak briefly and clearly, stating only what is essential.” However, I want to emphasize that true communication becomes possible only when two people connect at a soul-to-soul, person-to-person level. When this happens, trust is formed. Where there is trust, misunderstandings disappear, and genuine commitment to one another becomes possible.
How, then, can the two parties in communication connect at such a deep, soulful level? There is a way—and it is not rhetorical skill. It is the ability to listen deeply to what the other person is saying. Every human being is drawn to those who truly listen and longs to be connected with them at a deep, heartfelt level.
When Samuel was young, God called him. But Samuel, unable to discern the voice of God, ran to the priest Eli (1 Samuel 3:7), thinking that Eli had called him. The striking fact is that Eli himself also lacked the ability to recognize God’s voice (v. 1). After this happened a third time, Eli gave advice that would change history: “Go and lie down, and if He calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening’” (v. 9). What was the result of this attentive listening? The downfall of the house of Eli, the priest, signifying the departure of the old order. A new order was about to enter Israel’s history: the emergence of Samuel. And what was Samuel’s role? He established Saul as Israel’s first king. Samuel’s listening gave birth to a nation. The reason Saul later had to leave the throne was the same: he did not listen. “To obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen is better than the fat of rams” (1 Samuel 15:22).
If a husband and wife would simply listen to each other, 80 percent of family problems would be resolved. If a leader listened to followers, 80 percent of an organization’s problems would be resolved. If a pastor would simply listen well to church members, they would feel as though all their problems had been solved and would come to respect the pastor deeply. This is the power of listening. When a leader decides to listen, problems that seem certain to sink an organization can be transformed into opportunities for remarkable growth. Bill Gates once said, “Customers full of complaints are a problem every business faces—but they are also an opportunity for growth that every business faces.”